


Staring at the end of the final masquerade

by RavenInugami



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Competent Tony DiNozzo, Dave Rossi is Tony's godfather, M/M, Not Beta Read, Tony DiNozzo Leaves NCIS Team, Translation, not MCRT friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21907432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenInugami/pseuds/RavenInugami
Summary: Sometimes you only need a silver lining in the bleak of the night to have something to live for.After having the plague, for Tony it’s the support of his godfather and Brad’s suggestion to turn his experience into something good.Seems like working on his doctorate changes many things for Tony, including having the strength to stand up for what he wants and believes in.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo & David Rossi, Anthony DiNozzo/Original Male Character(s), Anthony Dinozzo & Brad Pitt (NCIS)
Comments: 75
Kudos: 776





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm almost finished with this story and I thought that the first chapter would be a nice christmas gift.  
> Since only a few scenes are still missing, I thought I would already start with the translation and present you the result.  
> This story is the much longer version of the EAD's first chapter and it got much longer than planned. 
> 
> Hope you'll like it. 
> 
> Merry Christmas to everyone.

Every breath burned, hurt and seemed more impossible than the one before. Blue light shone down on him and intensified the panic of drowning. Usually he had enjoyed being in the water, the weightlessness, freedom and tranquility. All this had always helped him to calm his constantly moving thoughts. But now? Now the light caused a feeling of being trapped under water, of no longer being able to breathe, no matter how hard he tried. Alone with his thoughts and demons he began to take stock. Making a balance of what he achieved and missed in his life. It was not as if his life ran past in front of his inner eye, but there were some things he secretly regretted not having done. He tried to take another deep breath and was rewarded with another coughing attack. He knew he had to be careful, but since Kate was removed from quarantine hours ago, there was no one left to scold him for it. But scolding would also be more pleasant than that booming stillness that drove him mad! Couldn’t they at least find a radio somewhere and turn on some music? He had never been good at being quiet for a long time and the combination of blue light and silence only intensified the feeling like being trapped under water.

Would he ever be able to go diving again? _Unlikely_ , the part of him that was normally hidden away told him, _lung diseases don’t get along with S.C.U.B.A. diving and the signs of a pneumonia are unmistakable._

So either the plague or the pneumonia killed him? How exciting, he thought cynically. But he would rather bet his money on the first one, considering his constantly weaker getting body.

From the corner of his eye he perceived a movement outside the quarantine area, but could hardly muster the strength to turn his head. He decided for once not to be stubborn and just to give in. When he woke up from his nap he would ask Nurse Emma or Brad (and how crazy was it that the one person who broke his leg and was responsible for his career as cop and agent, was now trying to save his life? – Oh, the irony of his life.), one of them he would ask for a radio. The silence drove him mad! Along with the blue light. He would probably never go diving again. It’s a pity, but it was always a way for him to relax. Maybe… But the thought slipped from him when finally the weakness of his body triumphed.

The next coherent thought he had was full of gratitude that someone had been sensible as to banish the silence with some music. When the next piece began, he almost frowned (if he’d found the strength), but dismissed it as a coincidence. But after the third piece he no longer believed it. Had someone hacked his hard drive? If McGee had been at his computer, then…

A quiet laugh interrupted any thoughts of revenge. He seemed to have said them loud, because a voice he knew only too well, gave him an answer to his question.

“Don’t worry, Figlioccio. Your probie has nothing to do with it. I took the liberty of getting your MP3 player out of your car and the speakers out of your apartment.”

“Dave … what? … Dangerous.”

No matter how happy he was that his godfather was with him, he wouldn’t risk him getting infected.

“Don’t worry, Figlioccio”, he repeated, patting the knee of the younger one. “Congratulations, you are among the stubborn 15% who refuse to lose to the plague. But we certainly hadn’t thought that pneumonia would take you away.”

Tony would rather have laughed, but found that he also lacked the strength and also suspected that his would only end in another coughing attack.

“Where … Gibbs? … Happened?”

Another quiet laugh. “You’re stubborn as ever and you probably won’t give up until you’ve been informed of everything.”

“You … taught … me.” These choppy and incomplete sentences began to annoy him, but he knew that once he’d gotten some answers, he would be able to sleep and recharge his batteries.

“That’s true. Well, I’ll tell you what I know”, he paused for a moment. “A letter with a genetically modified strain of the pneumonic plague was sent to your office. The sender was the mother of an alleged rape victim who was of the opinion that the investigation was not correctly done. She didn’t care how many people she put in danger with her letter bomb, as long as her daughter’s case would be reopened. In the end it turned out that the daughter had lied. It was just an unfortunate combination of kinky sex games and a drunken driver, who ran over the boyfriend when he left the motel for a moment to get something to eat. The daughter was so ashamed that she preferred to accuse some unknown Midshipmen of rape.”

“Stupid … cow”, Tony uttered.

Dave laughed. “I had some, well, more colorful descriptions; both for the mother and the daughter. The problem was, the genetic modification made sure that no antibiotics worked and we could only rely on your stubbornness.”

“Brad… Thank.” Even if speaking was too hard for him, he had to get rid of it.

“I’ve already thanked the Wolverine, but you’d better get some sleep. You’ll need your strength for rehab.”

“Rehab…crap.” His reluctance was clear to hear, even if his voice got more and more silent.

Dave shook his head at his godson’s behavior. If Claire Paddington hadn’t been completely and absolutely in love with DiNozzo Sr., the chance would have been high that she would have earned a place on the list of the Mrs. Rossis. So the shared passion for opera and good Italian cuisine had only turned into a deep friendship that led to him becoming her son’s godfather. He had always taken this task seriously, had been there for him when Senior was not, and so he tried to talk some sense into him. “Tony, that’s different than rehab after your broken leg in college or if you’ve had a shot wound. This time it will be ensured that you’ll even be able to continue working as an agent or LEO. This is about restoring your lung function as much as possible. Otherwise, you can completely forget diving and even basketball will become unlikely.”

Tony took a deep breath in shock; he had no idea it would be so serious. “Fuck…life.” This statement was followed by a slight cough, that hurt deep in his lungs and more than Dave’s comment on the need for rehab, this pain made him realize how bad it was and how grim his future was when he would act in his typical modus operandi.

Dave nodded and looked compassionately at the younger. “I know, Tony. Just do what the doctors tell you and everything will be fine.”

Tony nodded slowly and then closed his eyes, finally falling asleep again.

Dave looked up from his book when the door to his godson’s hospital room opened. In the doorway were Agent Gibbs, Dr. Pitt and a second doctor who was introduced as Dr. Andy McGarrett and immediately inquired about Tony’s condition. “Was he awake?”

Dave looked at the doctor and nodded. “Yes, for a few moments and as he is, he had tons of questions. Which I answered, if I had the information.”

Agent Gibbs grunted and Dave could see disapproval. Not only did Dave have this information, but he also passed it on without first asking his consent. He also didn’t seem to like the music, which was clear from the fact that he simply pulled the connecting cable between the player and the speakers. Dave shook his head, stood up and re-established the connection and positioned himself between the stereo and the agent, whom he seriously fixated.

“Agent Gibbs, you may have the freedom within NCIS to act as you please, but in this room I’m setting the tone.”

“I don’t like the noise!” What an exaggeration! The music was at an absolutely appropriate volume and since it was Tony’s MP3 player, it was mainly classical music, jazz in all its forms and classical rhythm’n’blues.

“I don’t care! My main aim is for Tony to recover with as little excitement as possible from the ridiculous security regulations in the DC NCIS office. If it were up to me, he’d sue your office first, then leave and get another job. But that’s just worried wishful thinking.”

“Tony needs rest!”

Dave laughed and then crossed his arms in front of his chest. “How well do you even know my godson? Yes, he likes to do his best work when he is unobserved. But never, never really is it quiet. He’s always got music playing when he comes back to the office in the middle of the night and does the work he can’t do during the day because his boss is an overtaxing, power-hungry autocrat who requires his best investigator to play down his skills so junior agents don’t feel inferior and the members of his team have to continue fighting for any recognition. I’ve been looking at this in silence for the past few years because I realized that moving from Baltimore to DC was really beneficial for him and he has evolved. But believe me, Agent Gibbs, my patience is almost at an end and should the moment come that I think this way of working is detrimental to Tony’s health, I will see to it that you are held accountable.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Gibbs growled and tried to stare down at Dave. But he only lifted one eyebrow and smiled coldly.

“Didn’t they inform you? Man, that must bother you. But I was taught manners. My name is David Rossi. I am Tony’s godfather and I’ve his medical power of attorney.”

“David Rossi? The scribbler?” Oh, should that disparaging tone be intimidating? But not for Dave. Agent Gibbs was nothing compared to the serial killers he’d already faced.

“I prefer the description Agent in Charge a.D. or Sergeant Major in your case, if that makes you behave more appropriately.” With that David turned around and focused his attention on the two doctors who had observed the exchange in silence. "Is there anything new about his condition that I can tell Tony the next time he wakes up? He already knows he has rehab on the horizon.”

“Well, he won’t stick to that,” Gibbs interjected, thinking he knew his SFA well enough to know.

Dave just raised an eyebrow again, but then said, “I’ve already informed him about the possible consequences of not sticking to it. He’s not enthusiastic, but the idea of not being able to play basketball or go diving will keep him from shortening the program. He needs these recovery phases from his job more than he will be stubborn about it.”

Dr. McGarrett nodded relieved. He had been concerned about what Agents Gibbs and Todd and his colleague Pitt had told him. But he could work with these arguments. It could even be partly integrated into the therapy plan.

“That works for me. The next time he wakes up, we’d like to talk to him, if possible. So that we can make a more accurate assessment of his current condition.”

Dave nodded, sat back in the chair next to Tony’s bed and stared at Agent Gibbs. He seemed to finally realize that he couldn’t get any further with his usual behavior and left the room, followed by Dr. Pitt. David sighed with relief and looked at his godson.

“I really hope that your ability to endure his asshole behavior is not related to any romantic feelings for him. Because if that’s the case, mio caro ragazzo, I’ll make an immediate appointment with the next psychologist. And I know some who even you wouldn’t be able to fool.” A choked sound from the door made him look up and he saw McGarrett still standing in the door. He looked seriously in the direction of the younger one. “I won’t ask you to forget what I just said, but it would be nice if you could keep it to yourself. In Tony’s profession, it’s not always safe to live it out openly.”

McGarrett nodded. “I know. I’ll only talk about it if I get the permission from him.”

With one last look at Tony, he finally walked out and left a smiling David Rossi behind. That was quite interesting.

~.~

“I might have an unusual solution for your restlessness and boredom.”

Tony sat up and looked at his guest with excitement. “Shoot, Pitt. I’m about to climb the walls.” He really was, since he had been transferred to rehab his typical restlessness had returned. Even though his body often put a spoke in his wheel, his thoughts were constantly rotating. Which only made him more restless. He needed something to occupy himself with!

“How do you feel about writing down and publishing your experience and the consequences?”

“You mean a book?”

Brad shook his head. “No, a scientific work. To be more precise, your doctoral thesis. And before you argue against it with your time-consuming work, I talked to Dave, who really knows God and the world.” Brad briefly rubbed his neck. “Georgetown offers a special program for federal employees. It was created because the brass knew how inaccurate your working hours could be. Dave told me about the program and asked me if I knew the person in charge in the biological department. I do, a leading authority in the field.”

Dave, who was visiting, nodded and Tony turned his attention to him.

“Tino, I know you don’t want to rely on other people’s names and do it all on your own. That’s why my information to Wolverine about the course and asking about the abilities of the person in charge is my whole contribution. You have to decide for yourself if you want to do it.”

Tony looked thoughtfully back and forth between the two men and had to admit that the idea tempted him. In addition, the possibilities for theoretical future research would be enormously high. But did he have the ability? Was he... He shook his head and stomped the little devil with Kate’s face into the ground. Since he was out of quarantine, she had returned to her partially biting behavior. She was only too happy to pigeonhole him. Just because he had used Sport’s Illustrated instead of the Yacht Magazine to underline his example. He wasn’t stupid! Or incapable! Besides, if the program was really like Brad said, Gibbs’ working hours wouldn’t be an issue either.

When Brad’s beeper started, Tony grinned, “Go on, Doc. Go save the world. But leave the name of that university person. I’ll think about the suggestion.”

~.~

He couldn’t believe it. He had actually done it. He had applied for a doctorate in microbiology at Georgetown University. As soon as Dr. McGarrett – call me Andy – had heard about it, he had offered his assistance. Thus the rehab treatments had partly developed into actual brainstorming sessions, with Brad being present from time to time. But Brad retreated again with a small smile on his face when he observed how his two friends – and yes, Buckeye slowly turned into such – were discussing the topic of the dissertation as well as all sorts of other things.

~.~

Deep sorrow ran through Tony as he read Abby’s message. Kate was dead. Kate, who had stayed with him so long as he fought for every breath. At the risk of her own health and life. What had happened? Just a few days ago he had been on the phone with her and her voice filled with the honest joy of hearing that he would probably be back soon. Actually, he had planned to be already back in the office, but a slight cold in winter had thrown him back a little. Normally he would’ve played down the cold, but Dave and Andy wouldn’t be fooled. As a result, he had missed the introduction of the new director – one of Gibbs’ ex-lovers according to Kate’s assumption – and now Kate was dead. What had happened?! Abby wasn’t very clear except that Kate had saved Gibbs’ life and didn’t survive. He needed clarity, certainty. He loathed not being able to do anything, but before he got back to work, he had to know if he had to expect AhabGibbs or the Gibbs who resembled a grizzly with an inflamed tooth.

At least his phone call with Abby shed some light on the whole thing. Haswari, the son of a bitch, had resurfaced and attacked NCIS and the MCRT in particular. According to the FBI, that wasn’t true and Haswari just pretended as if to strengthen his position in Hamas. Tony snorted. A likely story! You could reinforce your undercover role without leaving a trail of bodies. He knew what he was talking about. During his ascent in the organization Mancalusos in Philly he had not killed a person who had not attacked him first. Every killing had been self-defense, or the cinematic use of stage equipment and make-up. Haswari, on the other hand, had killed three agents with a car bomb before he started attacking the female people around Gibbs. Abby and Director Shepard had barely escaped. Kate hadn’t been so lucky. Or her Secret Service instinct had come forward and when the famous red dot appeared on Gibbs chest, she had taken that one decisive step to the side and had been hit in his place. Apparently, this had completely turned Gibbs into Ahab, and he had gone in search of Haswari, against all FBI objections. Abby could not say exactly where he got the information from. But she believed it was someone who knew Director Shepard and who believed to know that Haswari was not responsible for the deeds. Tony didn’t even like what it sounded like. It sounded like Gibbs was working with a Mossad officer; a Mossad officer who wanted to prove Haswari’s innocence. That was... Damn it! Tony could hardly stop himself from hitting the wall. The last thing he needed was an injured hand. Gibbs had worked with Haswari’s handler! With the person who provided the officer in the field with the information they needed to complete the job. Gibbs had gone to bed with the enemy! So it didn’t matter that the encounter had ended in Haswari’s own death. Tony decided to take a look at the case file as soon as he was allowed to return to the office. Something was wrong with Abby’s explanation. He knew Gibbs basement more than well. The statement that he killed Haswari sounded strange; but not from Abby’s side. She believed this. So Gibbs concealed something. And Tony knew that when Gibbs kept something quiet, it usually didn’t end well. Towards the end of the conversation, Tony asked when the funerals for Kate and the other agents would take place. Abby’s answer completely ripped the floor under his feet.

“Oh, they’re already over. We thought you wouldn’t be able to come anyway because you’re still recovering from your cold. A cold, Tony? Really? That’s never stopped you from working before and we really needed you the last few weeks. You really picked a bad moment to make mountains out of molehills.”

Tony shook off the shock. Where did that come from? Sure, Abby and Kate had often conspired against him, but never before had an attack been so low down and inappropriate. Just over half a year ago he had fought for his life and was so relieved about every painless breath that he would almost have cried. The longer time-out due to a cold was really appropriate. He shook his head. The fact that they had stopped him from paying his last respects to his partner was truly incredible. So he couldn’t resist the injured tone when he answered Abby.

“Oh, excuse me for taking longer than I thought to recover from the plague. Maybe I should have done the same as the 85% who didn’t survive. Would I then be a lesser disappointment?”

He hung up and decided to give Abby the cold shoulder when he got back to work. A look at the clock showed him that Dave would be arriving soon to drive him to Bethesda for the final check-up. There they would pick up Andy, who would attend the meeting in two capacities: As a friend who offered assistance if there was bad news and as Tony’s initial attending physician. The friendship with Andy was a surprise, but also something that was incredibly helpful in Tony’s efforts to get his doctorate in microbiology; whether with professional support or motivating ass-kicks. Tony was really grateful that Brad introduced him to Andy. That Tony sometimes wished for more than friendship, now that was his own problem.

“We did everything we could.” Tony tensed up internally. That didn’t sound so good. Dave and Andy laid one hand each on his shoulders, supporting him and mutely encouraging him. “However, since you have followed all the instructions, we can certify that you are able to work again. If you continue to adhere to the program and there are no more unforeseen relapses, you will be able to do diving properly again in about a year.” Tony collapsed with relief and was only able to hear the next one with half an ear, but was sure that Andy and Dave would remind him. “However, you should avoid depths of more than 10m in the future. The pressure would simply be too much.”

“Thank you, Doc”, said Tony, joy vibrating in every tone.

~.~

Tony took a deep breath to get his mixed emotions under control. On the one hand he was really happy to be able to work again - which would most likely pass at the first sign of Gibbsian fixation. But he also knew that nothing was the same anymore. Kate’s death and the team’s decision not to inform him of the funeral had deeply hurt and changed him. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to treat them like he used to.

Completely relaxed on the outside, Tony left the elevator and went to his desk. He was about to drop his backpack when he noticed a movement from the corner of his left eye that stopped him. For a moment, he thought he saw a ghost as Kate’s desk was occupied. But it wasn’t Kate sitting there; it was someone he had never dealt with before, but about whom he had read a lot.

He could not believe it. They had put Ziva "fucking" David in Kate’s place; gave her Kate’s position in the team. He grinded his teeth as he read the rejection of his note about Officer David’s inferior qualification. They may have welcomed her with open arms, they may believe that it was okay to let someone work as an investigator who wasn’t qualified and didn’t know the local laws but he would keep his eyes on her all the time and wouldn’t trust her for a second.

Someone had to protect the team, even from themselves if it had to be.

~.~

With his eyes closed, Tony searched for his mobile phone, which also served as his alarm clock, and ended the ever increasing sound. Sighing, he turned on his back and looked at the ceiling. He didn’t want to get up. For a few weeks it became more and more strenuous to go to work. He had to force himself to leave the bed and the apartment. Since Gibbs had waltzed off to Mexico, because he believed sunsets and tequila were the right remedy against amnesia and for overcoming grief, the team had become unbearable.

Every directive he gave them was questioned, everything was discussed or completely nonsensical counterproposals were made. He hadn’t expected everything to go smoothly. Not after Gibbs had disappeared into the sunset with a "You’ll do". But what the team delivered was almost unbelievable. He was partly treated as if he was the probie and not the most senior of them and Abby happily took part in everything. Just because he made an effort to do his job the best he could instead of mourning Gibbs as if he had passed away.

The day before Abby had taken the cake with one of her actions and destroyed any possibility that the relationship between Tony and her would ever be the same again. After McGee couldn’t afford to go to the lab - or call - to get an important test report, Tony had walked the few floors himself. Since Gibbs’ absence, one wasn’t welcomed by blasting music anymore, but Abby’s mourning face wasn’t any better either. Before he could even say a word of welcome, he had a yellow Post-it stuck to his chest that read "Trainee" in Abby’s spidery handwriting.

"Trainee, Abby? For what?"

"You’re not Bossman, so you still have to learn to be that way. Timmy said you give orders all the time. Don’t be so cocky."

He looked down on the sticker, removed it and stuck it with a disappointed/condescending look on Abby’s forehead. "I think you need it more. You’re right, I’m not Gibbs, I’m not trying to be like him either. But I damn well deserve respect for keeping this team going. You should think about training your manners."

He was out of the lab knowing it wouldn’t help to complain about the behavior of Abby, Ziva and McGee. Not with Director Shepard as director of NCIS.

He shook his head, tried to dispel the gloomy thoughts and rose slowly. One had to do the job. One had to take responsibility on behalf of the victims. One had to give the bereaved the answers that helped them. The team was obviously unable to do that, so he would do it!

~.~

When Tony woke up, he already knew that this day would just end terribly. The rebellious toddlers who called themselves his team became more and more unbearable. Any attempt to report their misconduct was blocked, beaten down or downright ignored. Standing in front of his wardrobe and dressing, Tony knew that today’s outfit would be another topic of talk. But as he always said, his clothes were his armor and today he would need to be bloody thick-skinned.

Leaving the apartment, he carefully stroked the goldfish bowl on the sideboard and smiled sadly. “We miss you every day, Katie; and especially today.”

With a trudging steps Tony moved onto his - no, that wasn’t Gibbs! – desk. He was the team leader, so get over it. After all, they didn’t have a problem replacing Kate right after her murder, and Gibbs was just pretending he was retired. He knew very well that in the next few days, either some heads would roll, or the bitchiness of the comments in the team would increase considerably. But unlike any other day in recent months, he wouldn’t hold back. Not today!

Of course, the dense duo was notably absent and he had no hope that they would show up at the office anywhere near on time. It wouldn’t do any good to hope that McGee would complete the tasks of an SFA completely and to the satisfaction of everyone - namely JAG. He was really tired of having to discuss every report with the younger one and had therefore decided to do the work himself. This had unfortunately led to McIknowbetterthanyou feeling confirmed in his view that Tony only wanted to shuffle off part of his work on the team.

He had ignored the sound of the elevator opening, not hoping that his team would be complete at least once on time. So, for once, the surprise was more than obvious when Ziva entered the team’s area with a broad smile and wished them all a wonderful morning. Something was not right here at all. His mistrust was heightened when Ziva started distributing cupcakes on the desks.

“What is that?”

“It’s called a cupcake, isn’t it? I read a lot and everything I read indicated that when you have something to celebrate, you bring something for your colleagues and friends.” The amazement could be read on her face, but Tony realized that it was just an act. She had an intention with it, and it wasn’t a good one.

“Oh, thank you, Ziva. What is the occasion?” Tim, the traitor he was, made a joyful dash and as if he hadn’t eaten for days for the pastry, while Agent Lee looked at Tony and waited to see how he reacted.

“By the end of the week it’s been a year since I’ve been offered a liaison officer position at NCIS and I thought I’d bring something today.” Tony got hot and cold and he pushed the pastry far away from him. Ziva had the impudence to look attacked. “I didn’t do anything with it, Tony. Who do you think I am?”

“What I think you are”, he asked dangerously quiet and turned completely to her for the first time that day. “The list is far too long to list everything. But impudent, unbelievable and cold-blooded are the terms that come to my mind first at the moment. How dare you show up today with cake? Apart from the fact that you seem to have an alarm clock after all and are exceptionally punctual. All your behavior is a disregard for how we might be feeling today. Do you really think we could so easily forget why you found a place at NCIS? What actions led to it? You want to celebrate with us? I will certainly not celebrate the anniversary of my partner’s death with the person who is partly responsible for her being shot!”

What else he wanted to say was stalled by Director Shepard’s appearing at the balustrade upstairs, who ordered him into her office in a cool voice. Maybe that was better, because the next sentence would have gone in the direction of “You have no business here, bitch”, and that wasn’t a good idea with NCIS’s current leadership.

On the way up, Tony could still see from the corner of his eye that McGee shamefacedly set aside the bitten into cupcake. Well, maybe it had finally got through his firewall what a Trojan Ziva David really was for the team.

He nodded briefly to Cynthia and then entered the director’s office, not knowing exactly what she wanted from him, but suspecting that today would take another turn he didn’t like.

Tony was struggling to maintain an impassive face. With every word the director said - he refused to address his superior by her first name, no matter how many times she asked him to - her behavior over the last few weeks became clearer and clearer. She had tried to isolate him, to deprive him of any support, so that he had no choice but to turn to her. It almost would have been a success if it wasn’t for Dave, Brad, Jimmy and the growing circle of shared friends. If he were more desperate, he would probably take on the task he was offered without hesitation. His thoughts paused. If he didn’t agree, she would find someone else. Someone who had no scruples to take on such an immoral task. He could not allow that to happen. The only problem was that the legend didn’t work. But he couldn’t tell that to the director. He had only one possibility to let it all turn out at least halfway well: Honesty; honesty to the person who had been an incredible help for him during the last weeks and whose friendship he did not want to lose under any circumstances.

The director looked at him expectantly and Tony realized that she had probably been finished with her explanation for quite some time and was waiting for an answer. He stood up, buttoned up his jacket and tried to maintain a positive tone. “I will do my best, Director.”

Outside the door he hastily wrote a text. He wanted to get over with it as quickly as possible.

Tony stirred in his coffee lost in thoughts when his appointment sat across from him.

“Sorry I’m late. Almost everyone called in sick. So don’t have much time either.”

He nodded, sighed and then took a deep breath. “First you should know that I had absolutely no idea when Andy introduced us and that your help was incredible and that I’m really sorry.”

“Tony, what’s going on?”

He put the spoon on his napkin and looked seriously at his counterpart. “What do you know about your father’s business, Jeanne?”

“What do you mean by that? My father is a normal businessman.”

Tony shook his head. Sad that he would have to take the illusion away from Jeanne.

“The director asked me into her office yesterday. She wanted me to accept an undercover assignment. She wanted to get information about an arms dealer who posed a threat to the Navy and the Marine Corps.”

“Why are you telling me this”, the young woman interrupted him. “Surely it’s normal to maintain silence towards outsiders.”

He nodded. “I ... Normally, yes. You must know such orders are nothing unusual for me. I’ve always had the ability to adapt to my environment and get people to like me. It’s very helpful for job changes and undercover jobs. But this time it’s different. I shouldn’t act as a possible business partner or anything. The director wanted to approach him through his family. Under any circumstances, no matter what.” She seemed to understand slowly, but didn’t want to believe it. This was noticeable in the stiffening of her body as he continued speaking. “The director wanted me to make you fall in love with me so that at some point you would introduce me to your father and I could find out whether he really did what he was accused of.”

Jeanne now paled completely. She imagined what she would have thought of all this if she hadn’t known Tony yet and if he had really done the job.

“What are you going to do now”, she asked with a soft and uncertain voice.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I will not ask you to spy on your father under any circumstances. I think I will quietly make enquiries with some of my contacts and then express my regret to the director that I have been rebuffed by you because you are already in a relationship.”

She nodded. This tactic could indeed work. However, she still had a question. “But, why are you telling me this? I don’t know exactly what Dad’s doing; even though I’m sure it’s not illegal.”

He looked thoughtfully in his cup. “I told you because I have to ask you to be careful. The director might send someone else after I refused. I would like to ask you to send me pictures of possible new acquaintances, so that I can check whether they are honest with you. Not forever”, he assured her quickly as her gaze darkened. “Only until I clear the matter up and can give you the all-clear.” He put a hand on hers. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Jeanne.”

She looked at his hand holding hers and sighed softly. It would be so easy to fall in love with Tony and she knew that if he had tried, in a relationship with him she would have quickly started dreaming of the future and would have introduced him to her parents. But there were one, no actually two decisive reasons that spoke against it. On the one hand there was the break-up with her ex, which was not so long ago and still hurt. The second reason was that she thought she knew that Tony had another reason to fight so vehemently against this mission. He hadn’t said a word about it, but she thought she had noticed some of the looks Tony had given to the representatives of his own gender. She thought it was possible that at some point he would introduce a partner to their circle of friends rather than a girlfriend; which was perfectly all right for her. Tony was such a dear, self-sacrificing and loyal person who deserved to be really happy. So she made a decision.

“Okay.”

“Okay what?”

She grinned slightly at his flabbergasted expression. “I’ll keep my eyes open for unusual new acquaintances. And I will talk to my mother. We meet regularly on Sundays for brunch. Maybe she can tell me what my father does for a living. If I do it cunningly, no one will get suspicious.”

“I cannot ask you to do that, Jeanne.”

“You don’t ask me, Tony.” She looked out of the window and thought for a moment. If she was honest with herself, then her father’s absence had always gnawed at her. When he was there, he was wonderful to her, had always brought her gifts from his travels and she knew that he loved her. But the real support she had received from her mother. Her mother had encouraged and challenged her when she talked about wanting to study medicine. Her mother had sat with her in the evening and studied for exams, even though she had already worked long shifts in the hospital. Her father, on the other hand... was more like a dear uncle who pinched your cheek and secretly gave you sweets prior to dinner. “I never thought about what a businessman really does. But, there is no denying that my father was rarely there. That wasn’t easy for my mother and me. I don’t know what to think. But if he is involved in illegal machinations, he must be held responsible.” Tony nodded to her gratefully. Just as he was about to say something, her cell phone was making a penetrating sound. “I have to go back. I’ll get in touch when I’ve spoken to my mother.”

So she disappeared from the café, Tony worriedly looking after her. “Be careful, Jeanne. I don’t know what else the director has planned.”

~.~

“Agent DiNozzo, I looked at your report and I have to say I’m not impressed.” He just shrugged his shoulders. What was he supposed to say? As he had promised Jeanne, he had waited a few weeks and made inquiries with some of his contacts. What he had learned had made his hair stand on end and almost knocked him out of his Italian slippers. Not only was René Benoit incredibly skilled at covering his tracks, he was also currently a CIA informant, with the most nefarious of Agents as protection. Therefore, Tony had written a well-formulated report in which he had explained that Jeanne Benoit knew nothing about her father’s doings. It was also unfortunate, but she had completely rejected his advances as she was apparently in a relationship. Director Shepard had become more and more tight-lipped as she read the report, her lips pressing more and more against each other until there was only a thin line left. Of course, she wasn’t thrilled. With what lay in front of her, he actually made it more than clear that he would not participate in her vendetta and that, in his opinion, there was little point in entrusting someone else with the task, since the good doctor was completely unaware of what was going on.

“You will try again.” Pardon? He had to have misheard. “You’ll intercept her leaving the hospital and play your supposed charm.”

“With all due respect, Madam Director, how did you even imagine that? I don’t have the time to spend hours or days in front of a hospital in the vague hope of catching a certain doctor leaving. If you’re willing to see to it that the highly probable harassment charge will disappear, I can try. If you order someone else to take over my duties at the MCRT; I have a probie to train and Agent McGee and Officer David...”

“They both do an excellent job. You’re too eager, Agent DiNozzo. Jethro had the unusual ability to make micromanagement look easy. You need to give your teammates the opportunity to develop their own ideas.”

Have them develop their own ideas? What was that woman smoking? If he didn’t pay attention to everything what was going on, 20 laws would already been violated before the first coffee break. He sighed. It was pointless. Shepard was not available for any of his arguments. Tony straightened up and looked at her hard.

“My assessment remains the same. Dr. Jeanne Benoit has no knowledge of how her father earns his money. A continuation of the mission would only bind capacities without benefit and would not lead to any new insights.” With this last comment, Tony made a Gibbs and just left the office without further ado.

Instead of returning to his desk, he made a small detour to the basement. Years ago he had discovered a quiet corner that wasn’t covered by a single camera and gave him the opportunity to drop his masks for a few moments and just be himself. Or for undisturbed telephone calls with his professors or contacts. Today was about him sending a short message to Jeanne to prepare her that Shepard hadn’t been happy with him and that someone else would probably approach her soon.

After sending the message, he briefly leaned his head against the cool wall and tried to gather his wits. After a few minutes he ran over his face and stretched his shoulders. He couldn’t stay here forever. Up to the next round!

~.~

“And, McLover? Any interesting dates?” Tony could hardly believe it. The director had really put McGee on Jeanne after he hadn’t provided her with any satisfying insights. That was the worst joke of the century. But even worse was that one could tell from the tip of McGee’s nose that he had something to hide. He wasn’t an undercover specialist. No, McGee was great for playing room service, or getting out of a limousine and entering a club as Mr. T.E. Gemcity. But even that wasn’t real undercover work. That was McGee’s wishful thinking, his fantasy. Being properly undercover meant always being mentally three steps ahead, considering at least a handful of alternatives to each scenario. But McGee’s world of thoughts was too linear, too much put into a box. Tony shook his head, if this story didn’t blow up in their faces, it would really be a fluke.

~.~

Tony had a hard time keeping a laugh from his face when McGee returned from the director’s office to his desk with an abashed face.

Tony knew that with someone from the CIA near Benoit, it was only a matter of time before the action was discovered. It had been surprisingly easy to convince Kort that a trail of dead US agents was not in his interest, much less that of his "client". Unlike Haswari, the British and the Frog had been receptive to this argument and so Kort had, for once, left the C4 in the bag, preferring to have McGee’s cover blown through less violent and more creative actions. Tony hadn't been involved in this, except as a silent observer and maybe by putting a flea in the right person’s ear about the less lethal exposure but he wasn’t ashamed to admit that some of the actions were the work of an absolute genius and would be great future pranks.

An aggressive mumbling from the other side of the aisle ripped him from his thoughts and he couldn’t help but sigh. Gibbs was back and he was worse than ever before. Apparently someone – cough, cough, Ziva and Abby – had told him how bad and mean and incompetent Tony had allegedly been in his absence and since Gibbs’ memory still resembled more Jell-O than anything else – which of course he would never admit – he believed the allegations and treated Tony like a bloody rookie and also took his displeasure about anything out at his SFA.

Tony suspected that he would soon run out of arguments to dissuade his godfather from any interventions.

~.~

“How can one be so incredibly stupid and put oneself in such danger?”

Tony lay trembling with cold on his sofa, several blankets spread out over him and surrounded by hot-water bottles. He sighed. Andy was right. But what should he have done?

“Couldn’t let the girl die. And Gibbs neither.” His teeth chattered, making talking incredibly exhausting.

“You jumped into the Potomac in November! That alone is a stupidity in itself. But to dive that deep and to perform reanimation measures too. Is your life worth nothing to you? What about the people to whom you mean something? How will they feel if one of your stunts has taken you to your grave?”

“I’m sorry, Andy.”

The doctor took a deep breath and decided to break the promise he had made to Dave all those years ago. “I just don’t understand why you do this over and over again. Is that how you try to get Gibbs’ attention? To show him that you have a thing for him?”

Tony froze. That could not be true! How did Andy know about it? Not that he had a thing for Gibbs, which was absolutely not true, but that he was not averse to men.

“I, uh... Andy, you must know, I am absolutely not into Gibbs. But Dave and Spence finally made it clear to me some time ago why I was acting like this around him. A child’s wish for parental recognition. Stupid, isn’t it?” Tony laughed bitterly. “It’s clear how Gibbs sees me. Certainly not as a kind of son. Dave is what comes closest to a father. I”, he hesitated, “my relationships with men are nothing I openly admit. Not because it embarrasses me, but because I am worried about my safety and that of my partners; both professionally and privately.”

Andy – regretting his harsh tone a little – stepped closer to the sofa, got down on his knees and stroked the hand that was sticking out under the blankets. “I can only understand that too well. But there are also people who would be willing to take this risk and carry it. The professional environment is not allowed to decide or judge your private life as long as it does not contain anything illegal.”

“Does not help if colleagues are overly curious.”

The expression changed and all of a sudden the friendly, always joking doctor had disappeared and made room for the tough SEAL who had fought for his life in the world’s crisis areas. Only the light milky glimmer on one eye was daily evidence of the reason for the change in Andy’s life; the attack that had cost him two comrades and almost complete sight in the right eye.

“Just tell them it’s none of their business”, Andy pointed out. “They want to know everything about you, use your wealth of experience, but don’t care a thing about how you really feel. Or have I missed the sick bed visits in the last few days?”

Tony shook his head. No, only Dave, Spence, Jimmy, Jeanne, Andy, Brad and their mutual friends had inquired about him; either personally or by telephone.

But something still gnawed at him. “Why does that suddenly upset you so much? The attitude of the team is nothing new.”

Andy slumped back on his heels and breathed deeply for a moment. He ran a hand through his short dark hair. The next action could either be the end of his friendship with Tony, or the beginning of something new.

Tony watched with wide eyes as the other came closer and suddenly suspected what had caused him to change his behavior.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used the half time break of the Fiesta Bowl (what a game 😲) to finish the translation. But because the game started at 2 am where I live, I had to take a longer nap and then go through it again to be sure. 
> 
> Chapter three is not yet finished. So it will take a bit longer. 
> 
> A great start for 2020 to everyone.

It was obvious that Shepard would have preferred to leave him at home. But fact was that she only had herself to blame for that situation. When she had taken over from Morrow, she had not reassigned the position of AIC when the agent in question retired, but had let Gibbs sort of take over. This decision was more the result of the situation that Gibbs had never respected his de facto predecessor anyway and had always approached the director directly. For peace’s sake, Morrow had never done anything about it openly, but noted every situation in Gibbs’ service record. But it meant, that Gibbs couldn’t take over the security in L.A., because appointing someone to represent the director who was subordinate to the AIC would give a more than bad picture and was therefore out of the question. So now Tony was entrusted with the unpleasant task of having to endure Ziva and protect Director Shepard.

And it would have been his weekend off!

Andy and he had wanted to spend some quiet days on the estate. The last weeks and months had been extremely exhausting. Tony had completed and submitted his dissertation and was now waiting with every fiber for a date for his defensio. He knew he would do well. But he finally wanted it to be over!

He frowned as Ziva lolled in a tight bikini on the lounger next to his and tried to get his attention. He would never deny that Ziva was a good-looking woman, but he was utterly happy in his relationship and even started thinking about the big word Future without panicking. Moreover, Ziva had an abysmally ugly personality and a relationship with her would be peppered with hurtful remarks and quite simply abusive in every way.

“I think we should have kept up with her.”

“Ziva, the director gave us the order to leave her alone. Do I like the idea? Absolutely not. But she is the boss. To be honest, I would go crazy if someone followed my every step of the day. Director Shepard was an agent herself; she knows how to defend herself and also has her emergency beacon with her.”

He wasn’t excited himself about Shepard’s break away from them. But he wasn’t so reckless as to disobey a direct order; especially as Shepard was just waiting for an opportunity to come down on him like a ton of bricks. Ever since she thought he hadn’t done a proper job on Benoit and since McProbie hadn’t been successful either – which hadn’t really been a surprise – Shepard had been anxious to somehow make her displeasure clear to him. But he knew how to protect himself on all sides and didn’t offer her a single vulnerable point. He had set himself the goal of calling through in a few hours to ask about her status. This she probably won’t use against him.

Tony looked at the bodies in front of him with a frozen face. Shepard had put up a hell of a fight. But a Mexican Standoff never went well, every kid knew that. He turned around and saw Ziva looking at him with a mixture of contempt and accusation.

“I don’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ from you, David. I followed a direct order. Director Shepard is responsible for that result herself. But of course no one will believe that because you will present a different view of things. I have to call Gibbs.”

The phone call was really no joy, but in between all the inappropriate accusations, Tony managed to add something that stole Gibbs’ thunder at least for a moment.

“Do you mean as well trained as you did with Director Shepard? She knew that her past had probably caught up with her. But if she learned one thing from you, that’s to play a lone hand. She didn’t mention the danger with a word! And gave Ziva and me the direct order not to follow her! For fuck’s sake!”

“We talk when we see each other”, was Gibbs’ reprimanding reaction.

“I’ll unpack the helmet”, Tony replied sarcastically, knowing what this ‘conversation’ would look like.

Motionless, Tony stood next to his team in front of the desk in the director’s office, waiting to see what this had to say. He knew it couldn’t be good. The timing of this conversation simply spoke for it. No one was called to the office of that person’s probable successor on the day of the funeral of a supervisor, ex-partner and friend to be praised for their good work. The only advantage was that Gibbs had not yet been able to ‘talk’ to him.

Instinctively, Tony had adopted the posture taught to him at RIMA, which one had to adopt when talking to an older student or faculty representative. The hands clenched to fists touched each other at the knuckles with their thumbs turned upwards in the height of the lumbar vertebrae, back straight, eyes to the front. Not completely military, but already damn close.

“These are your new orders”, Vance started and handed Ziva, Tim and Tony each a rather thin folder. “Officer David, you return to Israel. The liaison position is hereby terminated. Agent McGee, you will report to the Cybercrime Division here at HQ. Agent DiNozzo, you’re due at Andrews Base tomorrow at 1930. They’ll fly you out to the USS Seahawk.”

‘Yep, definitely not good’, was all Tony could think and barely noticed how Vance handed Gibbs three thicker files. Apparently the new members of the MCRT. The new director hadn’t done himself any favors with that. Everyone knew that Gibbs wasn’t talked into his decisions regarding the line-up of his team. He decided who’s to join and you needed his authorization to reorient yourself. But, the emerging drama – especially when Abby learned that they would be scattered to the winds – he couldn’t take care of. He had somehow to explain it all to Andy. And find someone to take care of his apartment. And he had to call a lot of other people, too. That messed up his whole schedule! He should have had his disputation sometime in the next few weeks. But how could he do that when he was in the middle of the ocean? And if he started to say something now, it would only backfire. Because if his childhood with Senior had taught him one thing, then it was reading micro expressions to assess the mood and temper of a person and one thing was more than clearly evident in Vance’s attitude. The director wanted Tony or Gibbs to argue to set a precedent, to show how little he thought of them. So Tony would vacate his desk and as soon as he got home, he would talk to Finn about whether there was any way to postpone the disputation or hold it in an other way. He had fought too long and too hard to get to this point to give up now.

Still in thought he followed his colleagues down to their desks. Without comment, he began to search the drawers for things that belonged to him and should not be left behind under any circumstances.

“Tony? Everything all right?”

“What? Sure, why?” he answered McGee’s question, lost in his thoughts.

“Well, you are so silent. Especially from you I would have expected some protests.”

Tony turned his eyes to the younger one sitting at his own desk, as if he didn’t want to leave.

“McGee, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there are moments when any argument is pointless. And if the director gives you an order, then you obey it. You may not always like it and you may also express your concerns. But as long as it is not absolutely illegal and unethical, we are powerless. Do I like the idea of being the only cop on a ship with a high risk of being in a camp frenzy? Of course not. Especially because I had more important plans. But that’s the price we pay for being NCIS agents. CoC is saying something to you, isn’t it? Even if only theoretically.” Tony shook his head. He didn’t want to say the last part. He was Tony, the SFA who didn’t care if the junior agents did what he told them to. He was the easy-going-care-about-nothing-guy and not ABD in microbiology Tony DiNozzo.

But the rest had to be said once. Especially towards Gibbs, who still believed Tony and Ziva had a choice about the situation with Shepard and her death. She had made herself more than clear and even though the team usually annoyed him quite a bit, he still loved his job and insubordination towards the Director or SecNav was just not possible.

The bags were packed, the perishable food either frozen or used in the dinner. Tony and Andy sat across from each other in the apartment of the former and hung on their thoughts. About how the next few months would be. Tony had no illusions. There was no way he would return from this assignment prematurely, rather the opposite. Vance loathed him for whatever reason, and since Gibbs held him responsible for Jenny’s death, they would both let him stew for as long as they liked. Fortunately, he had been able to reach Finn, who promised to try to get Tony to hold his defensio on the scheduled day.

Tony had spent the last hours packing all the material on his laptop or e-reader that would prevent him from losing his mind in his isolation.

Andy had been playing with the label of the bottle in front of him for a while, trying to find the courage for what was on his mind. He knew what he wanted. He knew he’d regret it if he didn’t address this matter before Tony left. As the latter reached for his hand and looked at him questioning, Andy smiled uncertainly.

“I want... Well... We haven’t been together **that** long, but I have to admit, I’m thinking Big Way here. I’m just too old for anything casual by now. That’s why it took me so long to convince myself to be honest with you. Vance transferring you to the Seahawk sucks, but there’s nothing we can do about that. So if you feel the way I do, I want to give you something. A good luck charm.”

Tony tilted his head questioningly as Andy pulled out the necklace he was wearing from under his shirt. Inwardly he had to shake his head that Andy called himself old, as he was only four years older than Tony himself. With eyes growing larger, he watched as Andy took something off the chain and weighed it in his hand. He knew that Andy still wore his DogTags and to give him a part of it now, that was meaningful. Smiling at the uncertainty of his counterpart, Tony leaned back and took something out of his trouser pocket.

“As you know I went to RIMA and after I settled in, I was really happy there. It was Dave who made it clear to me at the time that although Senior’s behavior was horrible, he had no basis for contesting custody but would nevertheless always be there for me. Since the day I realized that I would be able to graduate with a good degree and also learn something for life and if I didn’t want to, I would never have to see Senior again because a full year stay was offered, I have always had one thing with me. I have a confession to make, Andy. I’ve been thinking about the future for some time now without panicking. That happened once, and she left me at the altar. I’m taking a big risk here, too. What I’m saying is, I’m game if you are.” And he put the second half of his RIMA DogTags on the table.

~.~

He was at sea for two weeks and he had to admit that it was not as bad as feared. Yeah, he was on his own. Yes, the crew on board did not trust him; they thought he was a snitch. The truth was, he knew about more illegal poker games and hidden booze than he revealed. But all anyone saw was that he was reporting crew members. He was just doing his fucking job!

But it was also undeniable that he was calmer and more relaxed. The constant fighting against McGee, David and Sciuto had really got to him. Apparently, he really was ripe for a vacation. But Team Gibbs doesn’t take time off, ever. It seemed more and more as if the boss wanted to create Asian conditions in which it became a standard that you were not allowed to leave the office until the boss was off as well. However, this wasn’t a way of working that was healthy and also absolutely didn’t suit his character. If he ever made it back to HQ, he would so straighten Gibbs out.

Until then, he would do his job aboard the Seahawk, hopefully take his defense and maybe do some “Oh my God, I hope that will never happen” mind games. He hardly had anything else to do to keep himself busy.

“Agent DiNozzo, I have an unusual request on my desk.”

Tony looked up from his reading and saw the weathered face of Captain Owens, who had sat with him at breakfast.

“Really?”

“Yes. A request has been received from Washington to put my command center, including video link, at your disposal for some time. As well as having an officer in the room to act as a watchdog. Can you tell me why?”

Tony took a deep breath of relief. They had actually made it. Dave and his profs had actually found a way for him to hold his disputation on time.

“The order to deploy to the Seahawk came at such short notice that I couldn’t push back some important appointments. One of them is the defense of my doctoral thesis. My people back home promised to see if they could find an alternative course of action. Apparently, one of them knows someone who knows someone who knows someone.”

Owens nodded understandingly. “May I ask on what subject?” The way he assessed the agent and also the rumors that were going around on board about him, then it was something frivolous, something that was hardly worth the effort.

Tony grinned, sometimes it was really fun to screw up people’s expectations. “Microbiology. The threat of bioterrorism through genetic manipulation of known diseases.”

The Captain could only just prevent himself from choking on his coffee. That was a truly volatile subject. He had actually wanted to delegate this task as a punishment to someone further down the chain of command, but now he decided otherwise. This could be an interesting evening program for him and his XO.

“All right, DiNozzo. I’ll let Washington know that they can do as asked.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Yo, DiNozzo. Captain’s looking for you.”

Tony turned away from the railing that enclosed the viewing platform and looked at the man standing at the stairs, waving to him. Tony nodded, and – to take a shortcut – walked down a few floors. Again and again, when he used these “secret paths”, he had to think of Kate and her unwillingness to believe him that he would find his way on board of any vessel that was in the service of the Navy. Well, she had been wrong at the time, but her face, when she wouldn’t confess to him that she had ended up in one of the men’s washrooms instead of the office she was looking for, was just priceless. Of course, this had spread like wildfire throughout the ship, much to her displeasure.

When he arrived at his destination, he chased away the thoughts of Kate and her at times truly puritanical, arch-catholic ideas and knocked on Owen’s door.

“You wanted to see me, Cap?”

Owens nodded and pointed at an envelope that balanced dangerously close to the edge of the table.

“It arrived with today’s mail. Scans were all clean and the stamp on the envelope indicated it is only to be opened in my present. I know nothing about the contents.”

Tony frowned, reached for the document and had to fight the nervous shaking of his hand when he spotted the logo of Georgetown University in the upper corner.

This letter could only mean one thing: the result of defending his dissertation. It was really an unfortunate circumstance that just as the committee was about to tell him the result, the connection broke down and due to bad weather no long-distance connections were established which had nothing to do with the Seahawk’s deployment and mission.

Tony looked at Owens, then with a shaky hand he tore open the envelope. The Captain meanwhile had placed himself next to him to have a look at the letter as well.

_“We hereby certify that Anthony D. DiNozzo Jr. has completed the final exams for the Philosophiae Doctor in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology summa cum laude and is therefore now authorized to add the term Ph.D. to his name._

_We are pleased to congratulate him._

_The official ceremony...”_

Tony stopped reading, let the letter sink and grinned broadly. He had done it, but... He looked at the letter again and had to confess that he did not like being listed as a Jr. there. It was time for him to do what had been buzzing around in his mind for a long time. It was time for him to finally submit the application for a name change and preferably before his diploma was written and awarded.

Owens slapped him on the shoulder and grinned broadly.

“Congratulations, DiNozzo. Perhaps we should open one of the confiscated bottles to celebrate tonight.”

Tony laughed and spent the next days as if on clouds. He had finally made it. He had accomplished something many thought impossible. A PhD in a scientific field in addition to his full-time job as an agent. At the next available opportunity, he would tell the good news to Dave and Andy. But he would not tell the MCRT. Not because he was ashamed, but because the last few weeks had shown him that he was not as important to them as they had always claimed. No message, not even one of Abby’s usual gifs had reached him and he doubted she had sent any at all.

No, he would keep his doctorate, as well as his soon-to-be-change-of-name, to himself.

“So, Doctor D.”, Tony laughed at this addressing, leaned back relaxed in his chair and focused on the man who had sat down opposite him. “There are wild bets going on about what you do when you’re not breaking up poker games and confiscating the crew’s booze supplies.”

Tony snorted and shook his head. “Those idiots are lucky I confiscated that stuff. That stuff was only good for two things. Killing brain cells and cleaning machine parts.”

His counterpart laughed, but agreed with the Agent. What the crew sometimes thought they could drink was almost unbelievable.

“So what are you working on?” Tony turned his notebook over so that the headline could be read. “What are the most likely diseases to be manipulated and what would be the impact of a bioterrorist act on the US in particular and the world in general.” He stared, then looked Tony deep in the eyes. “I’m in.”

“I don’t understand, Damian.”

Damian, the ship’s XO, tapped the block with an index finger. “Involve me in the mind games, use me as a sound board, discuss your ideas with me. I don’t care. But, we might be able to prevent this from happening, so feel free to use me.”

“What is it that you and Agent DiNozzo are always so busy with?”

Lt. Cmd. Winters looked up from his notes and frowned. Didn’t Tony inform the Captain? He had actually thought it was something that they were discussing in their briefings. The Captain’s expectant face brought Winters out of his reflections.

“We’re engaged in mind games. Or more precisely, with horror scenarios that hopefully will never become reality. I find Tony’s field of research incredibly fascinating and the considerations of what to do in the event of an actual incident... Sir, I think this is something we should support.”

“Agreed”, Owens thought about the answer of his 2IC and then nodded slowly. “Winters, if time permits, I have absolutely no objection if you sit down with DiNozzo even while you’re on duty.” The surprised expression on his face made him smile slightly. “As you said, it’s important that we put some thought into this. Maybe I’ll come by sometime and see what you’re working on?”

“Sir?”

Owens leaned back in his chair and frowned thoughtfully. “The way I assess DiNozzo by now, he’s not going to hawk that knowledge around. But if I know what it is, maybe I can put a flea in the ear of the right people in Washington. It could benefit DiNozzo, too. Because let’s face it, putting someone with his skills and experience as Agent Afloat, it’s a complete waste.”

Winters nodded and had his own thoughts on the matter. Tony had hinted at some of the things that had happened in the DC office in the last few months and he didn’t like it at all. He had even gone so far as to advise his sister to withdraw her application to NCIS and focus on the other agencies instead.

“Should I give Tony a heads up that we might have company? Sir?”

“Agent DiNozzo, please report to the Captain immediately.”

Tony raced through the corridors of the ship, wondering what the heck had happened that justified the sound of the alarm siren and the constant repetition of the announcement. Was the USA suddenly at war or what?

“What’s up, Cap?” Hardly out of breath, due to his daily sports program including an endurance run through the ship, Tony stuck his head in the command center.

“I just got word that the MCRT from DC is on their way over to investigate the suspected suicide case we had on the table a few days ago.”

Tony moaned and shook his head stunned. “Don’t they read reports? I’ve already explained that there’s a connection to the victim in Cartagena and I suspect the perpetrator is on board with us.”

Owens shrugged his shoulders, but then looked relieved when all of a sudden, the siren stopped blaring. “At last they have found the bug. Some kind of malfunction in the technology. But maybe the report was exactly the problem”, he returned to the original subject and Tony tilted his head questioningly. “Well. From what I’ve heard about Agent Gibbs via Scuttlebutt, he feels that he owns this case, and regardless of who is already working on it, he is coming in here trying to take over.”

Tony thought about it for a moment, but then agreed, because it was a really likely scenario. “I guess I’ll go and prepare the final report”, he said with a wry grin, which Owens agreed to.

“I’ll get CM Petty Officer Meyers to bring the team to your office.”

Tony saluted slightly, in his case more a sign of a fun and respectful farewell than real military rank, which would not be appropriate given his position as Agent Afloat. But Tony had eventually admitted that he respected Owen’s person and what he did for his crew too much not to show it in some way. So tapping his temple with the index and middle finger of his right hand was a compromise they both could live with and didn’t seem funny in the light of the friendship that had developed between them when Owens started participating in Damian and Tony’s mind games.

“Are we too refined to welcome us, or are you sulking because you were reassigned to a boat?”

Tony looked up from his laptop and saw David and McGee standing in the doorway to his office. Gibbs was missing, most likely in the process of trying to get Owens to do something he felt was his right.

Well, he could try.

“Junior Agent McGee and Officer David, I am not sulking. I’m working. An Agent Afloat’s duties don’t get done all by themselves. And it’s a ship, not a boat, Officer. What can I help you with? Just so I can estimate how long this interference is gonna take me.”

McGee and David gave each other an astonished look. Tony’s voice had lacked all the warmth that was normally present in it. It had sounded almost the same as on the day Abby’s short-term assistant had tried to frame him for murder, and the BAU had appeared in all its glory at HQ and stood behind Tony in support. Together with Dr. Reid and Agent Morgan, Tony had first brought Fornell and Sacks into line and then, using arguments and pointing out the obvious mistakes, had solved the murder, which was not a murder, and Charles Sterling had been arrested when he tried to attack Tony. At that time, his tone had been just as cold and dismissive. As if Sacks and Fornell were worth less than the dirt under Tony’s shoes.

“Work, my ass”, Ziva said in a snooty voice. “You must be on some naughty sites again.”

Tony snorted in disbelief. “You really have no idea how this place works, Officer David. We’re not on a cruise ship with free Wi-Fi for everyone. We’re on a U.S. Navy warship. All internal and external communications are strictly regulated. Again, what can I do to help you guys to get out of here?”

“We’re investigating a suicide that took place here, since you were too busy preventing poker games.”

“So you can read reports after all”, Tony said and only now turned completely to the two of them. “I wondered why Gibbs would drag his team all the way out here when the last data update to DC made it clear that I was dealing with a cunning killer rather than a suicide, and I was narrowing down the suspects. But perhaps Gibbs also believed that I was incapable of independently investigating a murder. Which, in turn, would paint a poor picture of Gibbs. After all, he recruited me for NCIS and kept me on his team all those years. Why would he do that if I’m such a bad investigator? So, why are you here?”

McGee and David looked at each other uncertainly, but Tony wasted no hope at all that his little speech might make a difference. The two of them were just too sure of themselves. When silence still prevailed after a few moments, he reached for a folder on his desk and handed it to McGee. “Report, investigation procedure and list of possible perpetrators. If Gibbs feels he has a right to hoard everything like a dragon, it’s all in there. Now, if you will excuse me. I really have work to do. Because contrary to popular belief, I break up poker rounds and do confiscate the crew’s booze not for fun. The latter is partly so impure that everyone who drinks it puts their life in danger. Someone has to protect the crew on board from themselves, so that they can protect our country. This is a task I am happy to carry out. So, shoo. Gibbs doesn’t like to wait.”

Tony made a shooing gesture, as if his former teammates were two flies to be chased away. He knew that he had nipped the slim possibility of returning to DC earlier in the bud, if it ever existed. But he had one thing in mind right from the beginning of his assignment: if he ever returned to DC he would change his behavior radically. He would no longer be Gibbs’ whipping boy, and wouldn’t knuckle under him at any time. He would be the man his godfather had raised him to be. If Gibbs would dislike that, he just would have to say so and Tony would look around for another job. He’d always have options; he’d find something if it came to it.

His deployment had taken nearly six months until Director Vance and Gibbs finally felt compelled to give in to the pressure from SecNav and the JAG to bring back the Agent responsible for the high conviction rate of the MCRT.

Tony could not help smiling as he read the letter that finally allowed him to return home. He took the chance that they were in the port of Naples and sent a message to Dave and Andy.

“I’m coming home.”

~.~

“Agent DiNozzo, good to see you. Captain Owens speaks very highly of you. Director Vance less so.”

Tony just shrugged his shoulders. What could he possibly say in response to that? It was no secret that Vance couldn’t stand him. The antipathy of his superior could not be explained and Tony was simply sick of it by now. McGee was hailed highly and declared the future of NCIS, but had no intuition about investigations and his political instincts were almost non-existent. Tony in contrast, well, if asked for his opinion, all the agent candidates should first take a tour through the Police Academy and gain practical experience as a beat cop. As a result, some of them would definitely have to change their attitude or would be directly sorted out. But nobody asked him.

“All due respect, sir, but why am I here?”

The invitation to this conversation had been presented to him by Dave, after an excellent dinner at the elder’s house. His godfather had specifically emphasized that he had nothing to do with the appointment except as being the messenger, and as their relationship was not a well-known fact, Tony believed him.

The two people on the other side of the table looked at each other briefly, then the person who had known Tony for some time took the floor.

“Tony, we regret what happened to you, but we are also grateful in a certain way. Without your encounter with the plague, the subject would probably have gone unnoticed for a long time. Perhaps even until it was too late. Homeland, FBI and State Department have been made aware of your thesis and would like to propose an offer.”

“Which would be that?” he asked, uncertain as to where it would lead”

“For want of a better term, the job of a two-fold agent with a special assignment.”

Tony shook his head. “I am not a spy, Director Morrow.”

The older man laughed. “Well, I didn’t mean double agent. You would work for several Agencies, but under the supervision of the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, with a team selected individually by you. The exact assignment has yet to be determined. Unfortunately, we’re faced with the possibility that our enemies could shift toward biological terrorism. With your work and investigative instincts, I think you are right on target.”

“I don’t know, there must be others for this. Better ones!”

“Others? Yes. Better ones? Only partially. Tony, I want you for the job because I know you, and I know there’s no question about your loyalty and work ethic.”

He cleared his throat and looked down thoughtfully. This offer sounded really good, and tempting. But was he really ready for such a responsibility? Was he ready to work more theoretically? Could he lead a team into action if it was necessary? What if that team behaved exactly like McGee and David during Gibbs’ hiatus? The risks would be far greater! He shook his head. No, he couldn’t let that happen.

“I really thank you, Director Morrow. But my time at NCIS is not over yet.”

His counterparts recognized that he was serious and nodded.

“Understood. But if you change your mind...”

“Then I’ll contact you.”

~.~

“Agent DiNozzo? I was told you were looking for one of my men?”

“And your name is?” Tony looked up and lifted an eyebrow inquiringly. Until he had a name, he wouldn’t say anything.

“Brigadier General Samantha Carter-Jackson. Sergeant Williams is in my command.”

Tony stood up and shook the woman’s hand. It wasn’t often that women were promoted to the rank of General, but the decorations on the uniform of the still quite young-looking woman made it clear that every single promotion had been earned honestly and sometimes painfully.

“All we really need is confirmation of his whereabouts. You didn’t have to come all the way down here for that.”

She waved off. “I was in town anyway, and luckily my former CO always has an emergency uniform for me in the wardrobe. So absolutely no trouble. What’s this about?”

“Sergeant Damon Williams was identified by a witness as a suspect at a crime scene, but the DNA found does not match the entries in the database. Hence our inquiry into him.”

General Carter-Jackson thoughtfully tilted her head, pulled out a somewhat futuristic-looking PDA and typed in some commands. After reading what was on the screen, she looked back at Tony and said, “Well, if it’s a recent case, I can already say that under no circumstances did Williams do it.”

“You sure?” Tony reached for his notebook and wrote down what the General told him.

“A thousand percent. Sergeant Williams has been stationed at one of our research outposts for almost a year. His next scheduled leave of absence is in three months.”

“That long?” Assignments that lasted over a year without any leave were really unusual.

“The exact nature of the assignments is classified, Agent, but I can assure you this is carefully considered and shorter intervals would only complicate the work.”

Tony nodded and suddenly had a damn good idea where the good Sergeant was stationed. Tony was firmly convinced that it could only be useful to be aware of all the loud and quiet rumors. The place where Williams was stationed was not talked about, unless you never wanted to see the light of day again, or be considered crazy, depending on who found out about it. So he left it with an honest “Thank you for the information, General.”

“I have to thank you”, she said with a smile, “in a way, you saved me from having to bang my husband’s and his best friend’s heads together to finally shut them down. The two of them simply rarely agree on anything. Even if it’s just that they disagree.”

“Different armed forces?” Tony asked with a grin as he sat down.

“Worse”, was her amused answer. “Human scientist and almost retired General.”

“Hu”, was his not very intelligent reaction. It was a truly unusual combination. But it only made his guess to which unit Williams belonged even more probable and he really wondered what they were dealing with. But not enough to risk anything for it.

“Are you flirting instead of working again, Tony? Gibbs is not gonna be happy about this.”

He sighed, looked up and watched with fascination how the General’s friendly sparkling blue eyes became hard and icy cold as she turned to the newcomer.

“Not at all, Officer David. I was merely providing Agent DiNozzo with some answers regarding his case. But great coincidence that I run into you. Tell your father to stop trying to obtain intel that is none of his business.”

Ziva defiantly folded her arms across her chest. “And who are you to think you can give me orders?”

Tony just shook his head. She just never learned.

“Just pass on my message. Agent DiNozzo, have a nice day.”

The farewell addressed to him was much friendlier in tone than the rough choice of words would have suggested.

While waiting for the elevator, she heard Agent DiNozzo’s tired reaction to something Officer David had said.

“Two tips for survival, Ziva. One, never mess with a General regardless of the branch of service, and two... don’t bother me today.”

She had to hold back her grin. The last part could have come from Jack in that tone of voice, just before he could make another point about why he was called the scourge of his enemies. A title he had deserved genuinely, as he kept emphasizing.

As the doors of the elevator closed behind her, she made a decision. She would keep an eye on NCIS in general and Agent DiNozzo in particular. It was always an advantage to know where talents were hidden. And the intelligence of the Agent, even when he was trying to hide it, was quite apparent. Especially when he seemed to realize what unit she was assigned to. To know when it was better not to say anything was a skill not many people possessed. Especially when it came to something like HomeWorld.

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

Tony had never given much thought about what would have to happen that the team learned about his doctorate. In the end, it was all less dramatic and yet more fulfilling than he had expected.

It was a day like any other in the last couple of years. Gibbs grumbled, Ziva did what she wanted while breaking all the rules, and McGee felt that a Mossad officer set a better example than an investigator with nearly 20 years of experience. But that was consistent with Little Timmy’s bias against police service. Didn’t eight years of NCIS under Gibbs’ thumb count as experience? Apparently not. Not since Miss David had wormed her way into this team, and McGee’s recent deployment to the Cybercrime Division helped even less. But Tony knew he was fighting a losing battle. McGee was Vance’s golden boy, the future of NCIS with the very best of opportunities. Ziva was the daughter of a really good friend; and friends do help each other, didn’t Tony know that? And Gibbs... Well, he was obviously unable to see that Vance was just toying with him. Challenged him to his rude, stubborn behavior, hoping that the older one would eventually go too far and he would be able to fire him. Vance, in turn, had no idea that while Gibbs had no ambitions for the big chair, his behavior made it clear who had the real power at NCIS and that the person in the big office was only there to sign time sheets and paychecks. Their power play was one of the many reasons why NCIS was considered a joke by many. However, Tony feared the day when the two men would decide to team up. They would likely be able to plunge the country into war. No, that was too extreme, bringing down the government, that was more likely.

A movement brought Tony out of his thoughts. Ziva was packing her bags. She had explained in the morning that she had an important date with her boyfriend and would leave early. She had been eyeing Tony conspicuously inconspicuous. But he didn’t care if she slept with the entire Navy, Santa Claus or the Sandman. He was in a happy relationship and just because he didn’t spread this fact, she didn’t have to rub her alleged superiority in his face. He just didn’t care.

But he did care if she did not do her job correctly and only delivered half-finished reports or ones written in Hebrew. Because then the work would stick to him. Experience showed that there was no point in reporting it. He got blamed because he allegedly kept the others from doing their work; even when he quietly did his own. That only indicated that he was planning something. These double standards were killing him. If he had to leave earlier or came later, he had to listen to a lecture about his lack of work ethics. But Ziva and McGee were more or less free to come and go as they pleased. He almost regretted not to accept Morrow’s offer, but he had felt that he had some unfinished business at NCIS. Whatever that was.

He shook his head and ignored Ziva’s farewell and her way to the elevator. Because of that he didn’t see someone stopping her from getting into the elevator, asking her a question and being pointed in his direction.

“Hey, Doc. No wonder you’d liked it at ours. This color scheme makes me feel like I’m getting a rash.”

Tony looked up and laughed at the faux tortured expression. He stood up to greet his friend. “Well, well, look what the wind blew to the shore. That you can even walk straight ahead without wobbly decks under your feet.”

Before the man in Navy uniform could answer, Gibbs interfered in the conversation in his typical I-need-to-know-it-all manner. “Who are you? What do you want from us?”

“From you, Agent Gibbs, I want nothing. I’m here because someone asked me for a favor. I was given some information that might interest the Doc.”

“Was the test result negative? Letting them call you Doc doesn’t help that you should’ve known it better.”

“McGee? Shut up.” Tony really had enough. That was fucking unbelievable. Within the team, he had come to terms with those taunts, but how could McGee believe it was okay to say something like that in front of a Navy Lieutenant Commander?

“DiNozzo!” Gibbs growled and tried to make a threatening stand in front of Tony, who would not back down. Not this time.

“What Gibbs? What could you possibly say to make McGee’s remark be altered in any way that would cause my reaction to be inappropriate? He has no idea why the Lieutenant Commander is here, nor what information is being discussed, nor where it came from. Theoretically, it could have been the good news that my 80-year-old neighbor has recovered from her hip replacement. Or that the Lt. Commander found a parts salesman for my Mustang. Or, completely off the top of my head and devious considering where I work, that he had information on a case I was working on as Agent Afloat. All reasonable scenarios. But McGee thinks the worst of me again and gets patted on the head in praise of it. And as for the nickname Doc. It refers to the doctorate in microbiology I was awarded almost a year ago. From Georgetown University before you turn up your nose at me again, McGee.” Tony looked at his friend. “I’ll take you outside and you can tell me what this is about.”

The two men stopped in the parking lot and Lieutenant Commander Damian Winters raised an eyebrow. „Wow.”

“Yes, I know. But that’s almost the normal tone of voice on the team now. If Ziva had been around, it would have been even more biting, but poorly camouflaged by false compassion. So, what’s the point?”

Damian pulled a tablet from the briefcase he was carrying and handed it to Tony, “Gwen was analyzing information from the Middle East and came across something that made her suspicious. She’s too new in the business to successfully put a flea in someone’s ear and she doesn’t want to cry wolf when there’s nothing at all.”

Tony nodded understandingly, read through the brief dossier and immediately realized the significance of the whole thing. He closed his eyes, took a short shuddering breath and came up with a plan.

“Listen. Can you ask Gwen to make a file for me with a detailed description of how she proceeded to find this information? I don’t need it right now, but the day may come when it will be worth its weight in gold and no one should be able to falsify, gloss over or even undermine anything.”

“You don’t think...”

“Damian, nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Then why are you still here?" he asked anxiously.

“My time was not yet over”, Tony replied. “But perhaps soon.” He forced a smile on his face. “Say hi to your sister and thank her very much.”

Damian nodded, tapped his cover goodbye and went to his car.

Tony stopped for a moment to collect himself and then went back into the building and his desk.

Tony was truly amazed by McGee’s self-control. He actually managed to hold back his disbelieving questions until Tony finished his reports, packed his backpack, was about to leave and Gibbs was once again shining by his absence. Even though McGee had been constantly giving him glances and trying to get the older one to talk.

“You want me to believe you got a doctorate? How is that even possible? You only got your bachelor’s degree as a super senior in under the wire. And Ph.D.’s can’t be won in the lottery.”

“McGee, you should start to understand that as long as you talk to the right people, you can do a lot in the world. After my injury and realizing that the chance for a professional sports career was over, I spoke to the university board and amazingly, they agreed that I could already take courses from the Master’s program, even though I hadn’t yet handed in my Bachelor’s thesis. On paper, it may well have looked like I was a super senior. But I was by no means lazy. As for my doctorate, and since you asked so nicely; do you remember the calls and messages to and from Sam, DJ, Finn, Becs, Ric and Haru that you all bitched about? Well, those were all my very male professors. Except for Becs and Haru, who are both very feminine and very much in love with each other. So, no, I didn’t sleep with my professors to pass my exams or my disputation, and no, I didn’t win the degree in the lottery either. I’ve worked hard and sincerely on it for the last few years. Despite the fact that you all tried so hard to make me feel inferior or stupid or like everyone’s punching ball,” he shook his head and made a decision. “You know what? Today is the day of revelation. You had a problem with how things were going so far? Then get ready for something big. Starting today, you’re gonna see the real DiNozzo. No masks, completely by the book. Have fun with it.” With that he turned around and went into the weekend. Maybe it really was time for a change. But first, he would stop by Ziva’s and fill her in on her boyfriend. If she knew what he was up to, though. Well, laws are there for a reason.

~.~

“You are not boarding that plane!” Dave stood at the foot of his godson’s hospital bed with his arms crossed in front of his chest and could hardly believe the enormity of it. Tony looked like he had barely survived 12 rounds against Mike Tyson and was now forced by the director of NCIS to board a plane to defend his fully justified actions to Mossad. Didn’t anyone see how wrong it all was? “You know I never wanted to talk you into your career. But I think it’s time to inform the DOD of what’s going on at NCIS and accept the offer made to you. Also, someone should remind NCIS of the oath they took when they joined the academy and started working there.”

Tony sat up slowly, careful not to put any weight on his injured shoulder. “They’re not all like that,” he defended some of his colleagues. “But you are right. Especially Gibbs and Vance should give this some serious thinking. And don’t panic, Dave. I had no intention of letting myself be led like a sheep to slaughter.”

Relieved, Tony sighed up when Dave and Andy had left his hospital room. He understood their need to make sure he had everything and was doing as well as he could, but he needed space. Needed the space to be alone to think. Was Dave really right? Was it really time to call in the DOD? Of course, he saw the need to bend a rule every now and then when it would get the necessary results faster. But breaking rules? Breaking laws? That went against everything he had sworn to protect and he was just tired of it. He was tired of spending more and more hours, more and more work to make sure the team’s cases would stand up in court. If he didn’t, even freshman law students would be able to beat them off. If Dave hadn’t instilled a sense of responsibility in him from an early age, he would have let it all slide long ago. But every time he thought about it even for a split moment, he imagined to hear the screaming of a little girl whom he hadn’t been able to rescue. It was the thought of the victims that kept him going. But, lately, he had been made to realize that this was not necessarily healthy.

He moaned softly as another wave of pain went through his elbow. He had previously refused stronger painkillers, knowing how he reacted to them. He needed a clear head at the moment to make a decision. He could take something stronger just before going to sleep.

Actually, the whole thing with Rivkin was the famous last straw. Nobody believed him when he said he suspected Rivkin might have something to do with the dead agent in L.A. Everyone dismissed it as jealousy on his part. If they knew... And then there was the information that Damian’s little sister Gwen had given him. Ziva had been passing information to Israel literally from the moment the ink dried on the liaison agreement, while simultaneously concealing Mossad’s actions on American soil. That was absolutely not right!

The only question now was who was behind the plan to drag him to Israel. Was it only Vance who wanted to get rid of him in this way? Was Gibbs involved? And if so, for what reason? Had Ziva once again taken on the role of the vulnerable and injured little girl, thus addressing to the side in Gibbs that had still not put the death of his daughter behind him?

Before he could find an answer to these questions, his mobile rang on the bedside table and he reached for it slowly and with aching limbs.

“DiNozzo here.”

“Where the fuck are you?”

Tony frowned. Had the forgetfulness returned? He had informed Gibbs that he had been admitted to the hospital. In fact, this had been his first call after one of Ziva’s neighbors had called into the apartment from the hallway to say that they had called the police because of the noise of the fighting – and the gunshots.

“I was of the opinion that my statement had been quite clear. What about Rivkin, fight, injured, hospital is not to be understood?”

“Get a Band-Aid and get your ass to the airport. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Tony knew he would have shaken his head in disbelief if it hadn’t hurt incredibly.

“A band-aid? Are you crazy? A dislocated shoulder, a contused elbow, bruises on the zygomatic bone and several broken or cracked ribs cannot be treated with a band-aid!”

“That you exaggerate in this situation, just incredible. It’s time to get off your ass and stand up for what you did and take one for the team.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Taking one for the team? Why? I did what I had to do. I defended myself. No more, no less! There is no raging jealousy of Ziva’s boyfriend or whatever she or Abby may have told you. I was following a lead on a threat and was attacked by a foreign agent. What followed was a fight to the death. We all know that Mossad agents often don’t think before they act. Rivkin tried to kill me to cover up his actions, and I’m lucky I was able to beat him. So, with all due fucking respect. I’m not gonna get to the airport and get on that plane so Mossad can grill me about the legitimate defense of my life. _Togliti la testa dal cula, idiota!_ ”

With this he ended the call and ignored the phone for the next few minutes. For the first time, deliberately ignoring rule #3 and to be honest, it felt good.

But this conversation had made one thing clear to him.

It was time.

~.~

Like a child looking forward to Christmas, he struck the days off of his calendar and mentally ran a countdown. No one at NCIS knew that the end of his employment was drawing ever closer.

Ever since he refused to fly to Israel to justify himself for something that required no justification, the DOJ had been watching NCIS closely and analyzing its actions. Apparently, no one there had suspected the authorities of a Ziva David, and no one liked the directors’ behavior. He had been told to keep quiet for about three weeks after his partial recovery and then leave NCIS.

Since Gibbs and Vance had been treating him like a leper since his refusal anyway, he was mainly dealing with cold cases and did not see a real problem in the behavior of the two men. McGee always looked as if Tony had stolen his favorite toy, but Probie only noticed what it was like to work for Gibbs without a buffer. Not to mention all the paperwork that Gibbs considered unnecessary and usually always passed on to Tony. However, since Tony was not involved in current cases, all of this ended up on McGee’s desk.

Tony just shrugged internally. As you sow, so you shall reap. McGee had long been convinced he did not need Tony and had longed for Gibbs’ undivided attention. Slowly, he now realized his mistake and what it meant to be fully in Gibbs’ focus.

 _‘Tomorrow children, what a joy! Tomorrow is the day, oh girl, oh boy. What a hustle and a bustle, what a life will be in this house,’_ he sang in his mind the slightly butchered translation of a German Christmas carol. His eyes wandered to the currently empty desk across from him. Ziva was still in Israel at the moment, but had announced that she wanted to come back after the funeral and mourning period. That could only mean trouble. Especially for him! So it was fitting that he soon would had nothing to do with the Navy Yard anymore.

Some would call it cowardice, but for Tony, it was merely a sign of self-preservation that he had returned to the office late in the evening to place his resignation on the relevant desks – Gibbs, Vance and Human Resources. In his letter, he had explicitly stated that he would waive his outstanding vacation days and overtime as compensation for adhering to the notice period. This meant that as soon as he left the building, he would never have to work in that toxic pumpkin again. He let his gaze wander through the room one last time, then shouldered the bag in which he had packed all his personal things. He had put his badge, ID card, mobile, and gun in the bottom drawer of the desk along with the locked box containing Gibbs' medals. At first glance, his former workplace looked exactly as he had wanted it to. The team would not notice he was gone until he was truly gone.

He would leave the city the next morning with part of his team to meet the rest who came to Georgia. They would spend some time at CDC headquarters, sort of as a team-building activity, since only he knew most of them personally. He had spent the last few weeks selecting his staff and setting up rules for their work. He would never make it to Gibbs’ extent, and some of them he considered borderline illegal or absolutely nonsensical, but a few he had adapted without hesitation.

When he left the parking lot a few minutes later, a smile crept up on his face. Maybe he could get Andy to play some guitar while he was cooking. Maybe Dave would also come over from the main house. Shortly after his return from the Seahawk, Tony had moved into the pool house on his godfather’s property. It was simply a practical consideration that would pay off even more now that the two of them were traveling on regular basis. Additional benefit that came up? Nobody could show up at his door and pester him for information that were nobody’s business.

He opened a new chapter. That of DOJ special investigator Tony DiNozzo.

Was it cowardly of him not to tell anyone? Well, that wasn’t exactly true either. He had informed Jimmy. He even had briefly considered offering the younger man a spot on his team. But then he’d realized that his Gremlin wasn’t suited for the job. But somebody else was, and so Tony’d called Gerald Jackson without further ado. Jackson had made an excellent recovery from his encounter with Haswari, even though a stiffness had remained in his shoulder. He had changed his career a bit and had gone into medical research. Tony now wanted to take advantage of this fact.

Other members of his team included Dr. Sheldon Hawks and NCIS Special Agent Chad Dunham. Tony had met Hawks through a mutual acquaintance. The former surgeon, ME and crime scene investigator had needed a change of scenery away from New York City and Chad wanted to get out of Africa, which Tony understood only too well.

The team was completed by the two youngest. Leilani and Keanu Shaw were twins of American-Hawaiian origin. Born on Lānai’i and raised on O‘ahu, they moved to Atlanta in their teens, where they both graduated from an elite high school with top grades. They then both went to Annapolis, majoring in Chinese philology, Arabic, Anglistics and Natural Sciences for Leilani and Chemistry and Computer Engineering for her brother. After graduating and their first employment in the Navy and the Marine Corps, they moved to the ONI and MCIA, respectively. Tony knew that he would have to slow the Rooks down to some extent, but he also knew that their experience in the Intelligence field would be as valuable as the experience of the former NCIS agent and the Crime Scene Investigator. With his accumulated skills, Hawks would also be an excellent liaison and facilitator for the team.

~.~

“Which crackpot did you give the script to read? Haven’t you noticed the absolutely illogicality? In the first part the entire government is wiped out in an attack and then you rebuild the bunker in the exact same place? And you wonder that it’s destroyed again and with it the Government? God, damn. The movies are getting worse and worse!”

Hawks glanced to his colleagues at this outburst but they only shrugged their shoulders.

“Tony spends what little free time he has as a critic for an online movie magazine. He’s just seen a new one, and apparently some of it hasn’t been well thought out.”

Hawks shook his head smiling at Gerald’s reply, but then turned back to his own reading. In the short time they’re now together as a team he had learned quite a bit about everyone and he could say he didn’t regret the change at all.

~.~

Tony looked out through the window in his office to his team’s desks and had to grin at their behavior. Hawks and Chad seemed to have “conspired” against the twins to teach the Rooks a lesson. The two younger ones, however, did not back down and handed out in equal measure. The behavior had already been apparent in Georgia and Tony had decided that he would allow it as long as the tone didn’t slip. He would prevent his team from becoming like the MCRT. He was already feeling better than he ever did at NCIS, and he would do anything to keep that atmosphere, that spirit, at all costs.

Of course, he was worried about how his team would develop, what might happen. But then Andy pulled him out of his dark thoughts with a few targeted words. He reminded Tony of the things that really mattered and as long as he took Gibbs as a warning example, he would do an excellent job.

He turned and looked out his window at the National Mall. As far as office space was concerned, the Department of Special Operations had definitely already won against NCIS, especially since they did without that incredibly ugly orange. The rooms had been ready for a long time, just waiting for Tony’s response. One thing bothered him, though. He looked down at himself and shook his head. The suits had been fitting for NCIS, when he started to need an armor against David and McGee’s sayings, hostilities and inappropriate assumptions. By choosing the suits, he had wanted to make a statement; wanted deliver a picture of professionalism.

But, that was no longer necessary at the DSO. The assignment was a different one and perhaps that’s why a different appearance was appropriate But, this was not something he would decide over the head of the team.

He got up and went out to the others.

“Listen, I think we need a distinctive mark. Something in the style of a badge and uniform, but functional. We might even be able to wear it in court, depending on what’s chosen. The decision on what the uniform could look like would be made together. Everyone has veto rights and can speak their mind. What do you think?”

Tony mustered his team as they considered his proposal. Hawks and Chad were less enthusiastic, you could see that. Gerald was open-minded and the twins looked at each other only briefly, then turned their gaze to Tony and said unanimously “We’re game, Chief.” Tony smiled. He had guessed that the least objection was coming from the two of them. They were both ex-military and used to wearing uniforms since they were kids. And being honest with himself, he liked that the team started to call him Chief as a sign of respect to his police origin.

The approval of Chad and Hawks had come hesitantly, but with proviso. They would immediately veto if only completely wacky outfits were up for election.

A few days later a hesitantly knock on his door made Tony look up.

“Chief, we worked something out about the uniform, and Kea photoshopped and basically dressed the team.”

Tony tilted his head questioningly, but Leilani just pointed towards the team’s break room and he understood. Apparently, they all should see the twins’ suggestion at the same time.

Observing the team’s reactions while they looked at the pictures, Tony’s decision was already made. He would vote for this idea. He especially liked the concept of the crest on the left upper sleeve. Tony couldn’t wait for them to show up as a team for the first time, because he knew that this simple solution would meet everyone’s approval.

“You know, kiddos,” Hawk’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "I feared the worst when the Chief put his suggestion on the table and then you said you’d come up with something. But, I’m pro it."

Chad nodded in agreement with his colleague, “It’s not so much different from what I usually wear. But the uniformity fulfills what Tony had in mind and if you replace the BDU pants with chinos or even jeans, it would even be suitable for appearances in court.”

Tony looked around. “All in favor? Black pants – BDUs, jeans, suit or chinos. In combination with sand-colored tops – depending on preference or situation shirts, long-sleeved, blouse or shirt –, dark brown leather jackets and black combat boots?” His team nodded unanimously. “Okay, then I’d say we’ll see where and how this can be bought most easily. Keanu, can you make a template for the crest and send it to me? I have to check with Morrow and Dittrichs, but I don’t think it should be a problem.”

~.~

Tony stood proudly upright in front of Gibbs, Vance, McGee, David and Sciuto. With hands behind his back and wearing the uniform they had designed for their team, Dave – who had been called in as special advisor – and the Inspector General did not find it difficult to imagine that if things had gone differently in his life, Agent DiNozzo could have had a very successful military career.

Tony looked at the still-NCIS employees with disbelief, coldness and contempt.

“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God,” he paused briefly and then took a breath. “As far as I am concerned, you have all violated the oath you swore. Each and every one of you is guilty in one way or another!” Gibbs straightened up and in his typical manner wanted to take control of the situation, but Tony just raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “I’m the one talking now, Agent Gibbs! NCIS is a federal agency mandated to protect and represent the interests and concerns of the forces of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and their families. Everything else, such as threats to national security or cases whose origins are not entirely clear, are the responsibility of other agencies. A Commander being shot on the radio, yes, that is NCIS jurisdiction. But if it turns out that this Commander has information about a domestic terrorist cell, then Homeland is informed and the responsibilities are shared or even handed over. But because NCIS suffers from an incredible inferiority complex and, like a petulant child, is unwilling to share, two bombs have exploded in the last three days, claiming an as of yet unknown number of victims. Victims that could have been avoided. Victims, among whom were people who had information about terrorist groups abroad suspected of developing biological weapons that threaten not only the United States, but the entire world.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” Vance said. “Our investigations have...”

“Your investigations have never seen the big picture.” Tony wouldn’t let him say any more. “NCIS is so blindsided, it’s already beyond belief. The best example is that there is a Mossad officer sitting here and it doesn’t even seem to bother anyone that she has access to information about covert operations and is passing them on to Israel.”

“Ziva has renounced Mossad and her father. She is...”

“Oh, yeah,” Tony interrupted Abby snidely. “I know of the grand plan to grant Miss David American citizenship and make her a fully-fledged NCIS agent. But honestly, you might as well give Eli David an office in the Navy Yard. Because there’s no such thing as a former Mossad officer. Especially not in the case of Miss David, who’s always rubbed the superiority of Mossad training in our faces.” He turned his hard look to Ziva, who for a moment thought she had misjudged him all along. But it could not have been. She never erred! “News flash, NCIS is a criminal investigation agency. The spies and assassins sit at Langley.” He waved off. “But, I know. No matter what I say, you won’t believe it anyway. And if only the really guilty one is charged, the others will throw themselves into the fire like lemmings, hoping to protect His Holiness St. Gibbs. I really hoped you guys would’ve learned something from the Rivkin situation.”

“Don’t you dare mention his name! You murdered him in cold blood,” Ziva hissed and tried to jump out of her chair, but Tony had anticipated something like this and had instructed his team to position themselves behind the agents. Therefore, Keanu was able to push Ziva back into her seat with one hand on her shoulder.

“Against all enemies, foreign and domestic, Miss David. Michael Rivkin was a Mossad officer on U.S. soil with a mission to the detriment of the United States, that resulted in the assassination of an American federal agent. This made him doubly guilty as a matter of fact. I was merely defending myself. You’re just mad because the dumb-ass-idiot-only-having-a-sports-degree-womanizer-and-ex-cop showed the oh-so-holy Mossad the ropes. You never took me and my abilities seriously. You all saw only what you wanted to see.” He paused and shook his head. “But, that’s not the point. We’re here for another reason. Gibbs, McGee, Sciuto the charges are as follows: withholding information about terrorist activities on U.S. soil, obstruction of justice, and concealing suspicion of abuse of authority. Vance, you’re on the first two counts with the difference of suspicion of abuse of authority. All four of you will be out of a job and marked as persona non grata within the LEO’s. David, the charges are endangerment of the general public in countless cases, obstruction of justice, covering up espionage activities on American soil, and suspected espionage. Even if the verdict is not Gitmo, it is already clear that you will be deported and your name will be added to the watch list. You will then be permanently banned from entering the United States. Presumably, our allies will be informed of this fact as well, but that is for others to decide.”

The different reactions were very obvious. Gibbs turned red with anger, Vance grinded his jaw, McGee tried and failed to say something with a stutter, Abby had tears running down her cheek and Ziva looked like a predator just moments before the jump.

“Who are you to think you can say such things! You are a nobody! An incompetent womanizer who only gets on with his money and his father’s good name.”

Dave, the IG and Tony’s team looked at Ziva in disbelief. “My father’s name? Do we not infer from one person to another? To be clear, Senior is a con man who shipped me off to military school when I was 12 because he couldn’t handle a kid. He has admitted several times that he merely impregnated my mother because a trust fund was then set up for this child. A trust fund that was actually intended for my education, but the bastard used the name similarity to empty it. But, that doesn’t matter now and in your opinion that’s not the real problem. Even though you brought it up as an argument. How dare I talk to you like that? I know you didn’t care what happened to me after I left NCIS. I was offered a job right after my assignment on the Seahawk. At the time, I didn’t think I was ready, thought I could do good for and with NCIS. I decided to accept this standing offer after you tried to drag me to Israel. Which would have been against the law, by the way. I am DSO Senior Special Agent Dr. Tony Davide DiNozzo, and one of my first assignments was to make sure NCIS stopped being such a goddamn laughingstock. Which can only be accomplished by clearing up this mess.” With job changes and the public acceptance of his academic title, Tony had decided to announce some small changes to his name. Dave had been more than excited about the small action, Senior not so much, as it denied him access to yet another trust fund.

“I still don’t believe you have a PhD. And honestly earned it. If that were true, you would have bragged about it constantly,” McGee found his voice again. If only he hadn’t done it.

“Careful, McGee. Your inability to not always take what you see at face value is showing again. Not everyone agrees that you have to blurt out your alma mater in every other sentence. Surprisingly, there are people who believe that life experience counts more than the nice shine of universities or the questionable ability to hack into national databases. Oh yes, right. The agencies have asked me to add one more charge. To Agent Gibbs, this is incitement to commit a crime, and to Agents McGee and Technician Sciuto, conducting it.”

“Wait a minute! You know damn well we needed the information,” McGee defended his move to hack the other agencies’ systems.

“Information that could never be used in a trial because it was obtained in a questionable manner. We’re all lucky that not every case this team has worked on in years has been shot down.” Tony shook his head in disappointment. “You just don’t get it, and I could rather have an eloquent discussion with a wall. Guys, take them away and be extra thorough with Officer David’s body check. Who knows if she’s not hiding a paper clip somewhere? She supposedly knows 20 ways to kill someone with one.”

His team nodded and was not particularly squeamish when it came to removing the four former agents plus a forensic scientist from the conference room.

“So”, Tony took a deep breath and turned to the two remaining people. “It didn’t go quite as expected, but better than feared. Any idea yet who Vance’s successor will be?”

Dave and the IG looked at each other and his godfather grinned slightly devious. “What if I said they were considering appointing you?”

“What? No way! That would be something I would reject absolutely, firmly and repeatedly. The DSO is only just being established, and developments indicate that we will need more teams. Please tell me this is a bad joke.” Vehemently and imploringly Tony looked back and forth between the two older ones.

“Don’t worry,” the IG reassured him. NCIS was not what was intended for DiNozzo’s future. He would eventually be made Director of the DSO, as many agreed. “That was already clear to us, and I made sure that this opinion was heard very clearly and accepted. Hetty Lange or Owen Granger would have seniority. But with both, the danger is too great that NCIS could be abused again for private missions. So far, neither of them has been at fault. Better safe than sorry, though, because neither wants a replicate of Shepard and Vance. There is one faction that would prefer a purely political succession, then again there is the desire to promote someone out of active duty who is close to retirement as a field agent and has at least a small political bone in his body. The decision is not an easy one and the last Director everyone was happy with was Tom Morrow and he will never leave Homeland and come back.”

Tony could only agree with the assessment, it was really unlikely.

“What about Burley?” he asked after he had mentally gone over all the agents that might be eligible.

The two older men shook their heads. “He will replace Gibbs as AIC, although Gunny never fulfilled his duties. I guess Agent Balboa will be asked. Although his age is still a little far from the end of Field Agent status, his repeated knee problems would otherwise lead to early retirement on medical grounds. With the promotion NCIS can continue to benefit from his experience for several more years.”

“Rick is a good man. Takes care of his people.”

Dave tilted his head questioningly. “Why are you asking who’s going to run this place?”

Tony shrugged. “Just because I have a problem with how Vance and Gibbs ran things doesn’t mean they all do. The Agency’s job is important. It just needs the right people to call the shots, and Burley and Balboa are the ones to do it.”

Dave nodded. “But, it’s nothing you have to worry about anymore. You better make sure to find those terrorist idiots. The last thing we need is a 28-week later scenario.”

Tony could only agree. That was a really horrible thought. “The team is on the estate today and we were going to have dinner and plan the next steps together.”

Picking up his team, Tony drove to the estate and the plan made at dinner was a success. They did not, at least this time, reach an outbreak. His team grew together and solved cases, which fortunately not all had to do with nightmarish biological weapons. They were often “invited” together with BAU to investigate and resolve inconsistencies in inter-agency cooperation.

Privately, he continued to stay in Dave’s pool house, in which at some point Andy had also moved.

During all this time he hardly thought about his old team. Of course, he was informed that they had all escaped imprisonment and that Ziva had been strongly encouraged to leave the country and never come back.

In his opinion, that closed the NCIS chapter for him. Until one day he was informed that there was a novel announcement that would probably interest him. A few researches later, it was clear that McGee and Sciuto had not let it go and had not learned their lesson. Believing that it was okay to hack the DSO to find out what the tasks were and whether Tony really had the credentials he mentioned was one thing and clearly bore Abby’s signature. To then wrap what was found in a novel, almost unveiled, spoke of incredible arrogance on McGee’s part. For Tony, it was no real pleasure, but a satisfaction to make it his first act as newly appointed DSO Director Tony Davide McGarrett to use the full power of the law against them.

Didn’t help that they both threatened to tell Gibbs. They still hadn’t given up on the illusion of Gibbs Almighty. Yet it was really speaking enough that since his expulsion from NCIS and his inability to get his job back through threats or blackmail, he had been unreachable and cut off all contact. But as always, Tony’s opinion didn’t count for the two remaining Yahoos.

The best day of his new career, however, was not the day of his promotion or when he had a computer security installed that resembled a dragon protected vault, but when General Samantha Carter-Jackson showed up in his office and informed him about what her unit was really doing and offered the opportunity of a future collaboration.

When he asked why, she shrugged and said, “It never hurts to be prepared. Besides, we would have offered you a job if you had stayed at NCIS any longer. If there’s one thing we can’t stand, it’s a waste of talent.”

After the General left his office, Tony started to make a list of people who could be brought in, in case of need. But he hoped that he would never need that list.

**_The End_ **

* * *

_Togliti la testa dal cula, idiota!_ = Get your head out of your ass, idiot!

Because more than one person wondered about Tony's new name, here comes the explanation:

He first changes his name to Tony Davide DiNozzo (not Anthony). Tony because everyone calls him that and Davide is the italian version of David and a hint to his godfather and his origin.

The second change comes after he joined the DSO and shortly prior his promotion to Director when he marries Andy. And because he wants to have even less to do with Senior, he changes his surname. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I butchered a bit with the timeline, because the movie Tony complains about was not released until 2016. But, the scene vexes me everytime I'm watching it.
> 
> For me, the story is finished at this point. No second part planned so far, so don't ask.


End file.
